Intention Inspired

Today, let's slow down and try new experiences that take will expand our knowledge of how we do what we do.

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When Spring returns again energy springs into action. Winter has been restful and reflective but now it's time to grow.

That is usually my thought process with the arrival of Spring but this year I decided to Ease into Spring. I want to fully commit to the tasks I have been waiting to accomplish. I want to get intentional and not start more than I can finish and I want to finish those projects I set aside last year. They are taking up space in my thoughts and feelings and I want to make room for the NEW.

We are going to slow down this week and use our committed time to create. Except for honoring our commitment of whatever time we chose, we are going to simply play and observe. We will continue to gather data on who we believe we are by creating and observing ourselves while we play. This week is focused on trying new experiences that take us to the edge of comfortability and expanding our knowledge of how we do what we do.

Use this week to also observe yourself as you move through the experiences of your day. What are your thoughts? How do you feel? These are wonderful clues that can lead us to the beliefs and the conditioned patterns we tend to operate from. We are not using our data to judge or prove anything to ourselves, so be aware of the mind chatter. That is usually where conditioning shows itself. (That mind chatter also holds valuable information. Document any repetitive mind chatter to use as data).

Bring out your favorite spring colors and create a page that reminds you of the intentional power of new growth and new beginnings.

Please take a moment to pause and reflect on how much more effective you can be when you SLOW DOWN and become intentional. If you feel comfortable please share your observations in the Activity Feed.

A shared journey is a journey that has more depth and more impact. Our community can give us the strength and the accountability to succeed. The very thing you might be challenged by may be exactly what another needs to witness to grow on their journey.

Let's compile what we know about ourselves and answer the question to the best of our ability—WHO AM I?—with a self-love card!

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💞 Who do you know that would be inspired by today's intentional sessional? Go ahead, share it with them!

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You may have noticed that when we were gathering our personal data I kept saying "Who we believe ourselves to be" rather than "Who I Am".  Who we believe ourselves to be may be very different than who we actually are.

What we know about the way the brain works is that we form a belief and then we look for evidence that support them afterwards.     

We have gathered quite a lot of data on who we believe ourselves to be.  First let's understand that "just because I currently believe this does not make it true".  We are a compilation of  every thought, conversation, opinion and contemplation that has crossed our path since our birth.  The possibility that we have absorbed information that does not serve our current reality is quite high.  It is because of all of this information that we have collected that we are gathering it and observing ourselves in action.

Today we will compile our data and answer the question to the best of our ability ... Who Am I?

Find the creative self-love card exercise here: https://intentioninspired.com/creating-a-self-love-card-that-honor-the-uniqueness-of-your-being/

The Life Pie exercise is a good indicator of where our time and energy are spent so we can make informed decisions that will bring more balance into our lives.

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💞 Who do you know that would be inspired by today's intentional sessional? Go ahead, share it with them!

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We use these Life Pies to determine the state of balance in our lives at this moment. This exercise requires an honest, non judgmental assessment of where your focus is most of the time at this stage of your growth. If you do this exercise once every other week or so, you can track your state of balance, notice which areas may need to be shifted and note the difference that any shift of the segments have on your reality.

It is very important that you are intentional and honest about your percentages. Watch out for trickery (The Judge and the Ego like a good trick). For instance: One of the segments is Friends/Social Connection-If you gather with a group and spend much of that time on your phone or scrolling Facebook, that is trickery and not actually Social Connection. Same idea if you eat dinner with your family but you are all focused on a device or you spend the meal distracted by something that happened at work. That is not part of the Family/Home percentage. These situations are where the honesty and intent come into play.

This exercise is information only. We don't need to be "fixed". It was not designed to cause guilt, shame or judgment. Do not let this be something you beat yourself up over. To make the changes we may need to make, it helps to have well thought out information and that is the intent of this practice.

Today we will compile all of the data that we have been collecting over the past few days and we will add to that data through a series of questions until we can clearly define: Who Am I?

✍🏼 full article: https://intentioninspired.com/who-am-i-really-grab-your-journal-and-lets-find-out

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💞 Who do you know that would be inspired by today's intentional sessional? Go ahead, share it with them!

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Who Am I?

Get out your journal and let's find out.

How do I feel right now?

What are my thoughts about life?

What are my top 5 core values?

Am I living in alignment with these values?

What would I have to change to be in alignment?

What are my top 5 challenges? (Some examples: I say yes when I want to say no, I am not a good listener, I don't trust anyone, I have to be perfect, I am comparing myself to others constantly, I have to be right, health issues, my job, my relationship to__________, I don't have money, I feel invisible, I am lonely, I am depressed...you get the idea)

What are your strengths?

What do you need to be happy?

Are you generally balanced emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually?

Finding out who we are can be a journey of a lifetime. Who we are today is not who we will be tomorrow or five years from now (even though it may seem that way). Each day is an opportunity for growth, expansion, and change and these things will happen whether we consciously embrace them or not. By becoming clear on who we believe ourselves to be in this moment we can make adjustments if necessary. We can begin to live a life that fulfills us and brings us joy.

If you are moved to create in color draw a picture of life.

What do we really desire from our life? Today, let's examine our values to get clarity on what will allow us to feel more balanced and whole.

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💞 Who do you know that would be inspired by today's intentional sessional? Go ahead, share it with them!

🎙 Have a question or feedback for Matt and Marva? Leave us a voicemail at https://intentioninspired.com/voicemail

To gain clarity about who we are, how we aspire to live, and the choices we make and to live fully rather than just survive. New beginnings require clarity and focus to manifest. Being clear about the path we choose can help us create the new life adventure we long for. What is more SPRING than a new adventure?

Yesterday we briefly touched on our core values. Today we will dive in and become clearer still.

What do we really desire from our life? How can examining our values make our lives feel more whole? We are more balanced and more fulfilled when we are aligned with our values.

Personal core values are the things that are consistently important to us, the characteristics and behaviors that motivate us and guide our decisions. By identifying our values, we can begin to design a life that is in better alignment with our true self. Here are a list of values that may resonate with you. Add any values you may have that aren't on the list:

Honesty • Kindness • Loyalty • Efficiency • Positivity • Dependability • Optimism • Adventure • Creativity • Fun • Authenticity • Fairness • Wisdom • Balance • Freedom • Courage • Authority • Beauty Status • Altruism (selfless concern for others) • Compassion Determination • Faith • Growth • Humor • Knowledge • Justice • Learning • Work that inspires

Choose five of these values. We can examine these and the role they play in our lives. We can look at them with curiosity and determine if they were chosen due to conditioning or from an inner feeling of “truth and purpose”. We can determine if they align with our truth.

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💞 Who do you know that would be inspired by today's intentional sessional? Go ahead, share it with them!

🎙 Have a question or feedback for Matt and Marva? Leave us a voicemail at https://intentioninspired.com/voicemail

Winter is over and Spring invites us to celebrate a New Beginning!

We have spent the past few months in the winter stillness and wrapped in the reflective blanket that Winter provides. We have used our time wisely and have gained some clarity about who we are and how we show up in the world.

We have observed ourselves in action and are aware of the “masks” we wear and the conditioning that has shaped us. We are all a work in progress and we are all whole, beautiful and enough just as we are. We are beginning to feel this at the core of our being.

As you read these words is there any part of you that is in resistance? Any part of you that wants to argue your own worthiness or make a statement that suggests that you are NOT ENOUGH? These are the thought traps that we want to observe, acknowledge and finally release. Before we consider a new beginning we need to ask ourselves a question. Who Am I…right now?

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💞 Who do you know that would be inspired by today's intentional sessional? Go ahead, share it with them!

🎙 Have a question or feedback for Matt and Marva? Leave us a voicemail at https://intentioninspired.com/voicemail

———

We begin with our commitment to our creative expression and to our own self-awareness.

We begin with the realization that even if a “creative journal” isn't your chosen form of creative expression, any creative practice enhances the power of creativity in all areas of our life. I find that I can be more authentic, experiment, play, and also share these ideas with you more fully if all of us have the same tools to work with. Keeping a creative journal, honoring the commitments we make to ourselves, making our journal our own…these are the actions that bring us closer to living a joyful and creative life and self-actualization.

Spring invites us to realize and celebrate that we are new each moment.

The Spring Equinox or Vernal Equinox is the time when the Earth comes into balance, awakening from the long sleep of Winter. 12 hours of light and 12 hours of Darkness. Our imagination, curiosity, and creative energy awaken with the Earth and we shake off our "hibernation". The Vernal Equinox (vernal-"of the Spring" equi-"equal" nox-"night") marks the turning point when daylight begins to overtake the darkness.

Winter has allowed us to rest, to go within, and embrace stillness. It gave us the opportunity to accept death, not as an end but as a new beginning. With the arrival of Spring, we feel the stirrings of rebirth, growth, and awakening. A new beginning is stirring and we must become clear about what we desire.

Today we make our commitment to our awakened creative energy. We vow to honor our commitment of self-awareness by releasing critics, judgment, and perfectionism. We applaud our courage to create and to stay open and curious about the way that expression manifests for us.

Copy this commitment agreement either by handwriting it into your journal or making a copy and pasting it in:

————

I, ___________________, will abide by the terms of this contract and commit to setting up my creative work space and working in my Creativity Journal, every day, for at least 30 days. I will spend at least _________ minutes each day (longer if possible).

It is my intention to connect with myself and my internal wisdom, to know and love myself and to honor myself with compassion, courage and curiosity. I am learning to trust and embrace myself exactly as I am in this moment. I have the courage to find out exactly who I am, observe myself in action and know that I am enough.

————

When you have copied or printed and signed your commitment declaration use your colors to decorate around it.

To solidify your commitment I encourage you to do something symbolic (light a candle, write a poem, a Spring meditation, create an alter) something to honor your commitment. Share that with us if you feel comfortable. A shared journey can be very powerful.

There is great power in sharing your creative process. It takes courage to show up and feel vulnerable but we learn so much by sharing. In many cases it is your vulnerability that will give someone else the courage to be seen and heard. I always love to hear about where you are and what you're learning on this journey of creative expression. Get Curious and Feed Your Soul!

🙌 Join us in the Art Room for free https://intentioninspired.com/art-friend

👁 Join as an All-Access Intention Inspired member ($7-15/mo): https://intentioninspired.com/all-access

🔔 Subscribe to the Intention Inspired podcast at https://intentioninspired.com/podcast

💞 Who do you know that would be inspired by today's intentional sessional? Go ahead, share it with them!

🎙 Have a question or feedback for Matt and marva? Leave us a voicemail at https://intentioninspired.com/voicemail

👩🏼‍🎨 Creativity Is a State of Being

Creating is an innate human attribute, available to everyone. We will explore this. You will find so much benefit to daily creative expression and so many areas that creativity can enhance your life. Each person that accepts this challenge and commitment changes the world for the better.

🌱 Aside from honoring Spring, this journey was designed to:

• Examine and reframe our beliefs about our own Creative expression and expand our understanding of how vital Creativity is to our personal growth and our lives.

• Allow us to create and observe ourselves while creating in a space that is non-judgmental, supportive and authentic. You will find that sharing this journey with other co-creators really enhances the journey. We can learn so much and more quickly through the loving support and wisdom of others and sharing ourselves as we learn.

• Remind us of the importance of keeping commitments we make to and for ourselves. If, like me, this was not something you were taught to do, you will find out how powerful this practice of commitment is. This practice allows us to become mindful and self aware and to honor ourselves as we learn.

• Observe ourselves in a fun and active creative format. That is why I chose creative journaling. It is fun and I can learn while I play. My inner child loves it!

• That gives you some idea of what this journey is about. There are many layers to this onion and no matter where you are on your creative journey there is much for all of us to learn about loving ourselves and how creativity affects our lives.

Today, let’s discover our power as alchemists of our lives.

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💞 Who do you know that would be inspired by today's intentional sessional? Go ahead, share it with them!

🎙 Have a question or feedback for Matt and juniper? Leave us a voicemail at https://intentioninspired.com/voicemail

Today, let’s let go of what is ready to go, noticing the beauty in changing.

💌 Sign up for our free 10-day resilience email series: https://intentioninspired.com/resilience-email/

🙌 Start the 10 Days of Resilience Community Course: https://intentioninspired.com/resilience

👁 View today's full session: https://intentioninspired.com/resilience9

🔔 Subscribe to the Intention Inspired podcast at https://intentioninspired.com/podcast

💞 Who do you know that would be inspired by today's intentional sessional? Go ahead, share it with them!

🎙 Have a question or feedback for Matt and juniper? Leave us a voicemail at https://intentioninspired.com/voicemail